Custom Wedges are an Overlooked Way to Improve Your Score
More and more golfers are taking to their local course with custom fit iron sets and drivers. It’s important to have a set of golf clubs that’s tailored to all the aspects of your swing. You have the right shaft, shaft flex, length, lie angles and lofts tuned in to work with you. What about the wedges in your bag? Are they fit for proper loft and distance gaps? What about the bounce and sole grind; does it fit your swing and divot type or even the typical conditions of the golf courses you play? With all the golfers making sure their golf clubs are fit for them, it’s time to take advantage and maximize your shot making potential in the short game. You use your wedges so much, it’s important to have custom wedges fit for your game. Those yardages where you pull a wedge out of your bag are where you’ll make up strokes on your scorecard and lower your handicap.
The first step in deciding on a set of custom wedges is to see if your current wedges need replaced. Often times, golfers don’t update their wedges as much as they need to. With new technology adding spin and wedges losing spin over time and use, it’s recommended you replace your wedges every 60-70 rounds. If you practice more frequently, especially out of bunkers, you may need to replace them more often than that. Grooves wear out over time, it’s how they’re designed, so when it’s time to replace your high lofted clubs, make sure you get custom wedges. When it’s time to select your new clubs, TGW has a large selection of wedges from the best brands on the mark.
Next, you’ll want to decide the composition and gapping of your custom wedges. The experts recommend having between 4° and 6° of loft between wedges. These degree intervals generally give you 10-15 yard gaps between each wedge on full swings. Most golfers find they will benefit from putting a fourth wedge in their bag to fit those gaps and lead to more full golf swings. It’s likely that your iron set came with a pitching wedge. Using the pitching wedge as a guide and these tips from the experts, we can help fill out your custom wedge set. If your pitching wedge is 43°, it’s recommended you carry a 48°, 52° and 58° wedge. For a pitching wedge 45° or 46°, you can utilize a 3 or 4 wedge set with either 52° and 58° wedges or 50°, 54° and 58° wedges. Pitching wedges lofted at 47°-48° have 3 or 4 wedge options as well. If you prefer carrying 3 wedges, consider adding a 54° and 60°. For a 4 wedge set, consider a 52°, 56° and 60° wedge.
Once you know your distances and lofts, along with how many wedges you’re comfortable carrying, it’s time to consider bounce. When determining the bounce of your wedges, consider your swing type and divot depth first, then take your typical course conditions into account. Master wedge designer Bob Vokey likes to say “bounce is your friend” and he’s right. Using bounce to aid your short game promotes proper contact and control, and this helps maximize your spin. If you have a sweeping swing where you take minimal to no divot with a shallow attack angle, you’ll want a medium bounce if you play normal or soft turf conditions but a low bounce if your usual course plays firm. A neutral swing with medium divot and a moderate attack angle can use medium bounce on normal or firm conditions but consider high bounce for soft conditions. A digging swing type takes a full divot with a steep attack angle will want high bounce for normal to soft turf and medium bounce for firm conditions.
Ordering a your custom wedge set is easy to do on TGW.com. When you find a make and model of wedges you like, click on the Enter Custom Specs tab to get started. Here you can choose you preferred shaft, length, flex, grip, grip size and adjust your loft and lie angles. Many custom wedge sets allow you to have the loft bent to your preference as well as adjusting your lie angle flat or upright to fit your swing if you’ve been fit in person. If you don’t know all your specs off hand or have not been fit in person before, you can click the Fitting Guide tab. You’ll start by entering information such as dexterity, height, length of wrist to the floor and preferred clubs. Next we’ll collect some swing information to determine your shaft type. You’ll select your preferred shaft and tell us which club you hit 150 yards and preferred ball flight. The next step will ask you your preferred grip, hand length and length of your longest finger. Once you’ve finished this step, you’ll be recommended a set of custom wedges based on your specs.
As you can see, there’s a lot that goes into making a custom set of wedges. You know as a golfer how important your short game so it makes sense to pay this much attention to detail when getting your next set of wedges. The amount of use these clubs see make it important to make sure they’re custom fit for your swing, specs and course conditions. Having a set of custom wedges will put a brand new set of tools in your golf bag. You’ll notice a difference in distance and trajectory control, feel and spin with a set that interacts with your swing. All that leads to better golf and lower scores. Make sure when you replace your wedges, you get the custom fit to your game.
